It's official: Rogers, Smith in the bullpen

Posted By
Jim Armstrong
On
May 15, 2010 @ 11:30 am
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General Rockies |
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The Rockies are 16-18 as we speak. While there are no plans for a parade down 17th Street any time soon, Jim Tracy will take it, given all the issues swirling around his team.

“We’re doing a wonderful job of holding our own right now,” Tracy said. “Nothing extreme, nothing for me to sit here and really, really rave to you guys about as to how great this is or that is, but …”

The Rockies, plagued by injuries and illness since the earliest days of spring training, will go into today’s doubleheader vs. the Washington Nationals six games behind the division-leading San Diego Padres. Clearly, they’re in hold-the-fort mode until some of their injured players, most notably Huston Street and Jorge De La Rosa, return in the next few weeks.

Until then, Tracy will scramble to keep things together. Which brings us to the bullpen. It’s official: Esmil Rogers and Greg Smith will move to the pen, what with Jason Hammel and Jeff Francis returning to the rotation.

No, it isn’t a long-term situation. The Rockies will have to make a roster move Sunday to open a spot for Francis, and Smith or Rogers will be headed for Colorado Springs. The likely odd man out figures to be Rogers, since Smith is a left-hander and fellow lefty Franklin Morales is sidelined with shoulder issues.

So Smith and Rogers, for at least today, are your left- and right-handed long men in the pen, with Manny Corpas closing until Street returns near the end of the month. No, it isn’t a perfect scenario, but it’s as close as the Rockies can get, given all their injury issues.

“We’re trying to maximize what we have in there (the bullpen) right now,” said Tracy. “I personally feel we’re doing a very proficient job of it. The guys who build the bridges leading up to the back end of the game, for the most part, have been terrific. And they’ve been asked to do it more than just often.

“At the back end of the game, there’s been some uncertainty, there’s been an unknown at times.”

Other bullet points from Tracy’s pre-game presser Saturday morning:

Eric Young, Jr., sidelined with a hairline fracture of his right tibia, will be placed on the 15-day disabled list between today’s games, opening a spot for Hammel. Tracy said Young would be re-x-rayed in two weeks. Until then, he’s shut down from all baseball activities.

Tracy was planning to start Todd Helton at first base in the first game, but switched to Jason Giambi after Helton became sick to his stomach late Friday night. Said Tracy, “He’s the most recent guy to grab ahold of whatever it is we found our way to grab ahold of on the road. Whatever it is, it got him, too.”

Helton is a candidate to play in today’s second game, but Tracy wanted to give him a few hours to eat a meal and regain some strength.